A Diminished House
by Casa Circe
Summary: Eries Aston reflects on the people she has lost and how these losses have shaped her life. One-shot.
**A Diminished House**

 **Note: Another entry for Angsty April! Though this one ends on a hopeful note.**

 **I had had this idea of exploring the grief experienced by the members of the Aston family after consecutive bouts of bereavement. I decided to write about that from Eries' POV because she's my favorite. And because I felt a twinge of cruelty, I decided to inflict more pain on the two princesses by killing off their father, to maximize the angst.**

 **This is just a one-shot and I have no intentions of expanding it, only of getting it off my chest. Nothing groundbreaking, just an exercise in getting into the characters' heads.**

 **Anyway, hope you like it and please let me know what you think. Enjoy~**

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 _Therese_

As far as Eries Aston was concerned, her family's lives were divided into two distinct periods: the time her mother lived and what followed after.

The death of Therese Aston made such an impact on them all that they could only think of their memories with her as remnants of a distinct past. Their days had been happier and simpler. The three sisters also felt a great sense of security while their mother lived because they would have someone to run to for advice and affection. All was joy and lightness and freedom.

The loss of his queen, as was always the case, had a profound effect upon Grava. While he had always been a cold and calculating man, the king had been different while his wife was alive. Warmer and one could even say kinder. But after Therese passed, Grava Aston retreated behind a hard exterior, focusing on his duties as a king and the advancement of his country, even if it meant using his daughters as pawns. He had not the same affection for them that he had for their mother. And they knew that he would never again give his heart to anyone.

The queen's presence cast such a particular glow on their lives that once she passed, this light was extinguished and a shadow seemed to fall on them all. They grew up and gradually recovered from the loss, but it left an indelible mark on each of the Aston girls.

 _Marlene_

Marlene's death had the most devastating effect on them all. It came about so suddenly and to one so young that for days, the king and his daughters remained in shock over the news. No one ever expects the young and vibrant to die early.

Millerna wept openly and profusely, her grief obvious to anyone who saw her. Her father and sister were more subdued in their mourning, the latter pursing his lips and deepening his frown, more in an expression of displeasure and disappointment than of sadness.

For her part, Eries exercised her usual restraint, remaining composed and calm even in the face of such a sudden and terrible loss. Those who were not well acquainted with the princess might have even believed that she felt nothing at all, so effectively did she conceal her sorrow. But she felt the loss keenly, not least because she was closer in age to Marlene and for all the differences in their personalities, they had shared a deep bond. They had kept each other's secrets and even when certain decisions had caused them to disagree, they had never stopped protecting each other fiercely.

Marlene's leaving for the Duchy of Freid had been hard for Eries. The latter had shown no sign of being perturbed at the separation but she had felt it acutely. Growing up, the three of them had always been together so that even though they knew that separation was inevitable, particularly with their father's plans for their politically advantageous futures, they had refused to dwell on these prospects.

Eries mourned all the things still left unsaid between her and her sister. And as a result of this, she resolved to take better care of Millerna and to protect the youngest princess in any way she could.

 _Grava_

When Grava Efud Aston finally succumbed to his illness after a prolonged confinement, no one was surprised. If anything, his passing came as relief to everyone involved since it was generally believed that he had suffered long enough. His health had never really recovered after he fell ill during the war. And his daughters had spent countless nights in vigil by his bedside, waiting for his condition to improve.

While there were some slight changes for the better, he never regained his former strength. He continued to live as a diminished version of his old self, unable to resume his role as king and leaving his responsibilities to his daughters.

Eventually, he expressed his satisfaction at the way they were running the country and was particularly impressed with Millerna's improvement. He had always known that he could rely on Eries for everything but he was relieved to know that his youngest daughter had begun to take her duties more seriously.

Eries suspected that he chose to linger long enough to make sure that Millerna was ready to properly ascend to the throne of Asturia. And one he was certain that he was leaving the kingdom in capable hands, he decided to join his beloved wife.

Grava's passing was mourned but not as deeply as the past two losses. This one they had been more prepared for and when it happened, seemed more of a transition from one regime to the next, the end of an era of war and hardship and the beginning of a time of peace and prosperity.

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So she and Millerna were the entiretythe House of Aston for the moment. But though their numbers were depleted, Eries believed that the situation was only temporary.

After all, Millerna and Dryden had worked out their issues and had given their marriage another try. From the way things were going, Eries surmised that she may soon expect a young niece or nephew.

As for herself, she was content with her lot. Though she did not have similar prospects, she was by no means closed to the idea of starting her own family in the future. It was always a possibility and life was always so unpredictable.


End file.
